Two buses collided on Sunday, near Kaffrine in central Senegal, that resulted in one of the deadliest traffic accidents, according to a fire brigade official in Senegal who spoke to the news agency AFP. As many as 38 people died and 87 were injured.
The National Fire Brigade of Senegal’s commander, Colonel Cheikh Fall, stated: “A terrible accident occurred. In both buses, there were 125 passengers; 38 of them have already passed away.”
The unfortunate accident occurred on the No. 1 national road at 3.15am local time (03:15 GMT) on Sunday, the official added in a statement to the news agency.
After the accident, he continued, all the casualties were removed and sent to a hospital and medical facility in Kaffrine.
He added that regular traffic had returned to the stretch of road once the debris and bus wrecks had been cleaned.
A three-day period of national mourning will begin on Monday, according to Senegal’s President Macky Sall (January 9).
The head of the state on his Twitter account wrote: “Following today’s serious accident in Gniby, I have decided on a three-day national mourning from January 9.”
“An interministerial council will be held on the same date to take firm measures on road safety and public passenger transport,” he said.
“I am deeply saddened by this tragic road accident and I extend my heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims and wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” Sall further added.
According to experts, road accidents are common in Senegal and are typically caused by careless driving, bad roads, and old vehicles. They add that this incident, however, had one of the highest death tolls from a single incident in recent years.
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